The Continuing Proof of the Efficacy of Anti-Psychotics

Despite the protestation from the anti-psychiatry advocates, medication for schizophrenia works and another study has just been published to support that position. A new study based on a nationwide data of all patients hospitalized for schizophrenia in Finland from 1972 to 2014 found that the lowest risk of rehospitalization or death was lowest for those who remained on medication for the full length of time.

The risk of death was 174% to 214% higher among patients who never started taking antipsychotics or stopped using them within one year of their first hospitalization in comparison with patients who consistently took medications for up to 16.4 years.

It should be pointed out that this is real life data rather than a clinical trial involving a total of 8,738 people.

What is particularly significant for me in this study is that it is from Finland which is the home in one isolated part of that country (Lapland) to the alternative Open Dialogue espoused by the anti-psychiatry folks including journalist Robert Whitaker of Mad In America fame. Whitaker claims that 80% of those treated with Open Dialogue are cured without need for drugs.

I wrote about Open Dialogue very critically back in 2013 in Huffington Post and pointed out that there is very little research to demonstrate its efficacy. I actually asked a Finish psychiatrist, Kristian Wahlbeck who is a Research Professor at the National Institute for Health and Welfare, Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services, in Helsinki about Open Dialogue.

This was his answer:

“I am familiar with the Open Dialogue programme. It is an attractive approach, but regrettably there has been virtually no high-quality evaluation of the programme. Figures like “80 per cent do well without antipsychotics” are derived from studies which lack control group, blinding and independent assessment of outcomes.”

He went on to say that:

“most mental health professionals in Finland would agree with your view that Open Dialogue has not been proven to be better than standard treatment for schizophrenia. However, it is also a widespread view that the programme is attractive due to its client-centredness and empowerment of the service user, and that good studies are urgently needed to establish the effectiveness of the programme. Before it has been established to be effective, it should be seen as an experimental treatment that should not (yet?) be clinical practise.”

As for the claim that psychiatric hospital beds in Finland have been emptied, he said “in our official statistics, the use of hospital beds for schizophrenia do not differ between the area with the Open Dialogue approach and the rest of the country.”

My blogging associate, Dr David Laing Dawson also wrote about Open Dialogue in this forum with very skeptical view. He stated that the director of the program admitted that about 30% of the patients in Open Dialogue are prescribed medication so arguing that medication is not used is not correct.

At the time my article appeared in Huffington Post, someone on Mad In America agreed with me that there was insufficient evidence on the efficacy of Open Dialogue and said that a US study was set to begin in, I think, Boston. I did find a completed study on Open Dialogue done by Dr Christopher Gordon. His study involved 16 patients and he states at the outset that

“Since this was not a randomized clinical trial and there was no control group, we cannot say that these outcomes were better than standard care, but we can assert that they were solidly in line with what is hoped for and expected in standard care.”

“three of the six individuals who were not on antipsychotics at program entry started antipsychotics. Of the eight already on antipsychotics, four had no change in their medication, and four elected to stop during the year. Both groups of four had similar outcomes and continued to be followed in treatment. Shared decision making and toleration of uncertainty contributed to these choices.

Hardly the success he suggests if the goal was to help them get well without medication.

But, coming up at the end of May in Toronto we have a conference with Robert Whitaker and others on Shifting the Narrative on Mental Health from the psychiatric disease model to the relational/recovery model, and on the challenges that are stacked against that eventuality.

Now I would say that the challenges against that shift are science but they define it as “The challenges and resistances to progressive change are of an ideological, macro-economic nature guaranteeing a protracted and difficult struggle for recovery advocates.”

2 thoughts on “The Continuing Proof of the Efficacy of Anti-Psychotics”

I think that the conference at Hart House is an insult to those who remain psychotic, ill and neglected on the streets. Hopefully some will register to rebut Whittaker’s irresponsible proselytizing . The title of the conference should be changed from “Shifting the narrative on mental health ” to “More launching of fake rights to effectively block life saving treatment ”

Last week in Kingston I saw quite a lot of very ill bedraggled souls trapped in a psychosis with no useful help. When will Mr Whitaker give up his wicked crusade? He should by know better.

The end of May conference : Shifting the narrative on mental health, even though his name is not mentioned anywhere is the brainwave of Brian McKinnon of Alternatives East York through a group called the leadership project.. The moderator on the two panels for this conference is Lucy Costa Executvbe director along with Jennifer Chambers of the CAMH Empowerment Council..!
The public tickets are $ 160 each…..